Arcanum Institute
The Arcanum Institute is a magical school and storehouse of knowledge located in the heart of the Sprawl in Ezir. A landmark unto itself, the tower stretches a mile into the sky, overlooking all of the city. The magical wards atop the tower, known collectively as the Shield of Ezir, provide a protective barrier around the country that were established at the moment of Kethenica's Gambit. Built during the Haphrises Era, the Arcanum Institute represented Nuian and Ezirandi cooperation, a place for learning and development of magic. After the Haphrises War, the Magocracy seized control of the Institute, orchestrated by the Black Circle, who had infiltrated the Institute at the highest levels. It was the site of a massive battle between Meithius, then Headmaster of the Arcanum Institute, and the Council of Seven, a band of heroes attempting to stop Eclipse from entering the world. Description A massive tower of black stone rises out of the center of the sprawling city, stretching thousands of feet into the sky. At its base, the featureless tower has a diameter of 3/4 mile, while at its peak it has a diameter of 1/4 mile. Plaza Immortalis Surrounded by a thick wall of obsidian, the Plaza Immortalis is a lush garden, criss-crossed with cobblestone paths and interspersed with fish ponds. A city unto itself, several small shops and stalls flank the plaza, offering basic services to students and faculty. Memnir Wall The outer wall of the plaza is itself colossal, rising three-hundred feet from the ground and standing nearly ninety feet thick. Made of a rare memnir obsidian, the wall absorbs magical energy, neutralizing it before channeling it through hidden conduits into the tower. There are no breaks in the smooth wall, which appears as a single, solid piece of stone. Access through the wall requires an Academy Mark, a glyph applied to all residents of the tower. Six gates in the wall allow passage: one in each of the cardinal directions and two small gates in the northwest and southeast. Anyone bearing an Academy Mark may open or close these gates. If left open, an unattended gate will seal itself after one minute. The tower itself is divided into hundreds of floors of varying sizes. The first floor is a grand hall around which are kitchens and sculleries. The second floor are servants quarters, laundries, and other service rooms. Most floors are dominated by libraries, laboratories, or classrooms. Dormitory floors, separated into small rooms suitable for two or three occupants, start at the tenth floor. As the tower rises, the dormitory floors grow more opulent, interspersed at varying levels. The tower sinks nearly five-hundred feet below the ground, a single, massive room the width of the tower. A shielded, enclosed stairwell runs along the inside wall of the basement, inside which sits an Earth Node, into which runs a pillar of memnir obsidian. Off of the stairway, carved into the earth below the ''Plaza Immortalis ''run various tunnels. Shielded from the node, these levels house cages, pens and cells for the various magical creatures used in research. The pillar of memnir obsidian that runs from the earth node rises the length of the tower. In the center of the tower, shielded from all sides and encased in solid granite lies the Heart of Ezir. The device occupies four floors each of which are out of phase with the rest of the tower, and receives power from the memnir pillar. The top floor of the tower, accessible only by portal, belongs to the Headmaster. From this floor, the Headmaster has access to the roof of the tower, where the memnir column juts into the sky, bisecting and Air Node. A smaller memnir conduit runs parallel to the column, feeding into the Shield of Ezir, a massive arcane circle atop the tower's roof. Category:Locations in Ezir Category:Organizations in Ezir Category:Organizations